klammvsKlemmWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: klamm is a adjective, Klemm is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“klamm” is an adjective and “Klemm” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,031
“klamm” frequency rank
#31,124
“Klemm” frequency rank
71155
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klamm Klemm
Definition feucht, oft in Verbindung mit dem Empfinden von Kälte deutscher Nachname

Where the eye mixes klamm and Klemm

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
klamm
5 ch
Klemm

Visual trap between klamm and Klemm

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klamm is [klam] while Klemm is [klɛm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “klamm” becomes e in “Klemm”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71155, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klamm is recorded at frequency rank #40,031, classified as anadj, pronounced [klam]. Klemm is at rank #31,124, tagged as aname, pronounced [klɛm].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 71155, this pair ranks #425,004 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of klamm vs Klemm

Shared letters: klm. Private to "klamm": a. Private to "Klemm": e.

"klamm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Klemm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klammkalmm · kklamm · klam · kllamm · klmam · lkamm
  • Klemmkelmm · kklemm · klem · kllemm · klmem · lkemm

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "klamm" and "Klemm" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klamm" is an adjective and "Klemm" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "klamm" or "Klemm"?
"Klemm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,124 in our German list, against #40,031 for "klamm". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "klamm" and "Klemm" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "klamm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klemm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #425,004 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klamm" and "Klemm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klamm vs kläre". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #425,004 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list